Determining a position of a mobile communication device

ABSTRACT

A method of determining a position of a mobile telecommunication device ( 10 ) which transmits a signal (S) to base stations ( 1, 2, 3 , . . . ) connected by a data link ( 8 ) comprises the steps of: •correlating the received signal (S) and a reference signal (S′) so as to produce a correlation for each base station, •detecting a maximum in each correlation, which maximum is indicative of a time of arrival of the signal (S) at the respective base station, and •using the respective times of arrival and the distances (D 1 , D 2 , . . . ) derived therefrom to derive a location of the mobile telecommunication device. The method uses receivers ( 21, 22 , . . . ) coupled to a data network ( 7 ), each receiver ( 21, 22 , . . . ) deriving the reference signal (S′) from the received signal (S). Each base station may select, if it receives multiple reference signals, the reference signal (S′) having the highest quality.

The present invention relates to determining a position of a mobiletelecommunication device. More in particular, the present inventionrelates to a method of determining a position of a mobile communicationdevice which transmits a signal to base stations, which base stationsare connected by a data network and have known locations. The presentinvention also relates to a base station for use in a mobiletelecommunication system, the base station being arranged fordetermining a position of a mobile communication device.

It is often desired to determine the position of a mobile communicationor telecommunication device, such as a mobile (i.e. cellular) telephone.The user of the mobile device may want to receive directions, for whichher present location is necessary. Or a system may be designed todetermine which mobile device users are in each other's vicinity so asto notify these users or exchange information between them.

Several prior art methods of determining a position are known. Some ofthese prior art methods are based on signal propagation times, using thetime duration between the transmission and the reception of anelectromagnetic signal (i.e. a radio signal or a light signal) todetermine distances. Radar is the best known example of such techniques.Other prior art methods involve mobile telecommunication devices andrely on properties of the cellular networks that are used by thesedevices. International patent application WO 2008/123774 (TNO), forexample, discloses a location detection method based on cell transitiondetection.

Most prior art position determination methods are designed for outdooruse, involving relatively large distances and areas. It is an aim toprovide a method and apparatus which are particularly, although notexclusively, suitable for indoor use, involving relatively smalldistances and areas. In addition, it is an aim to avoid using typicalcellular network features such as cell transitions, as such featuresprovide insufficient accuracy for indoor use.

French patent application FR 2 902 195 (Thales) discloses a method fordetermining the moment of arrival of a non-pulsed radio signal, whichmethod can be used for determining the location of mobile telephones incellular communication systems. More in particular, FR 2 902 195 appearsto disclose the steps of receiving the wireless signal of the mobiletelephone at two or more base stations, providing a reference signal atthose base stations, correlating the received wireless signal and thereference signal so as to produce a correlation (referred to as“intercorrelation”) for each base station, detecting a maximum in eachcorrelation, which maximum is indicative of a time of arrival of thesignal at the respective base station, deriving from the times ofarrival respective distances to the mobile telecommunication device andusing the respective distances and the respective known locations toderive a location of the mobile telecommunication device.

The reference signal used in FR 2 902 195 can be either a permanentlystored reference signal or a synthetic replica of a received signal.Using a permanently stored (that is, fixed) reference signal has thedisadvantage that only a single, predetermined signal can be used asposition determination signal, all other signals will either produce nosignificant correlation or a false correlation. In either case, anincorrect distance measurement and hence an incorrect locationdetermination will result. Using a synthetic replica involves, accordingto FR 2 902 195, demodulating a string of symbols contained in thereceived signal and producing a modulated signal containing the stringof symbols. That is, the reference signal is reconstructed using theinformation contained in the received signal. This known method has thedisadvantage that significant differences may exist between the receivedsignal and the reconstructed signal, resulting in lower (or evenincorrect) correlation values. In addition, since the reference signalis derived from the signal received by the same base station, it maydiffer between base stations, resulting in a non-uniform reference.

International patent application WO 2010/019477 (TruePosition) discloseslocation measurement units (LMUs) capable of detecting mobile to networksignals in order to locate wireless devices. The LMUs are co-locatedwith, or integrated in, the base stations of the wireless networkprovider and are arranged to demodulate signals of interest. Demodulatedreference signals are sent to other LMUs, which re-modulate thereference and uses it in a correlation process to determine the time ofarrival of the signal of interest. The system of WO 2010/019477therefore uses reproduced reference signals, which may lead tocorrelation errors. In addition, the path lengths of the wirelesssignals to the LMUs are no shorter than those to the base stations andtherefore expose those wireless signals to interference.

It is an object to overcome these and other problems of the Prior Artand to provide a method and apparatus that use a more reliable and moreuniform reference signal, while avoiding the disadvantages of a fixed,permanently stored reference signal or a reproduced reference signal.

Accordingly, a method is provided of determining a position of a mobiletelecommunication device which transmits a signal to base stationsconnected by a data link and having known locations, the methodcomprising the steps of:

-   -   receiving the signal at two or more base stations wirelessly,    -   providing a reference signal at the base stations,    -   correlating the signal and the reference signal so as to produce        a correlation for each base station,    -   detecting a maximum in each correlation, which maximum is        indicative of a time of arrival of the signal at the respective        base station,    -   deriving from the times of arrival respective distances to the        mobile telecommunication device and,    -   using the respective distances and the respective known        locations to derive a location of the mobile telecommunication        device,        the method being characterised by    -   providing a data network coupled to the data link,    -   providing receivers coupled to the data network,    -   deriving by A/D conversion the reference signal from the signal        as received by each receiver, and    -   forwarding the reference signal to the base stations through the        data network and the data link.

By deriving the reference signal from the signal as received byreceivers coupled to a data network, a second signal path is used toderive the reference signal: the signal path between the mobile deviceand the receivers. The receivers typically will not have the samelocation as the base stations, although in some cases the location of areceiver and of a base station may substantially coincide. By providingmultiple receivers in various locations, the signal path from the mobiledevice to a receiver will typically be shorter than the signal path fromthe mobile device to a base station, thus reducing interference andnoise.

According to one aspect a mobile telecommunications network with aplurality of base stations is used, and receivers that are not involvedin the operation of that mobile telecommunications network are added,which are constructed for receiving a reference signal and forwardingthe received reference signal to the base stations of the mobiletelecommunications network.

The reference signal is derived from the received signal using A/Dconversion (that is, analogue/digital conversion). In other words, thereference signal is essentially a digitised version of the receivedsignal. Although the digitised signal may be processed to make it moresuitable, for example by selecting a time-limited part of the signal,the reference signal is not obtained by reconstruction or remodulation.It is preferred to derive the reference signal from the signal receivedby the receivers by A/D conversion only, thus eliminating all signalprocessing, although the reference signal may be truncated in time andmay, in some embodiments, be subjected to (preferably lossless)compression to facilitate its transmission to the base stations.

In other words, the reference signal is essentially an A/D convertedreceived signal, forwarded from a receiver close to the signal sourcethrough a digital network to one or more base stations. It is noted thatthe main signal processing (such as correlating and detecting a maximumcorrelation) is performed in the base stations (or a central unit), notin the receivers.

In an advantageous embodiment, the data network and the receivers may beconfigured for WLAN access, preferably using techniques complying withIEEE 802.11 specifications. Thus, a WLAN access network mayadvantageously be utilized to receive and forward signals that may beused as reference signals. In such an embodiment, the receivers areconfigured as WLAN receivers.

It is preferred that at least one of the receivers has a location whichis distinct from the location of any of the base stations. Morepreferably, most if not all receivers have locations which do notcoincide with base station locations. Thus receivers can be used thatare closer to the signal source (that is, the mobile device) than thebase stations.

By forwarding the digitised signal through the data network and the datalink, signal deterioration is avoided as deterioration of the digitisedsignal is highly unlikely. As multiple receivers may transmit multipledigitised received signals to the base stations, each base station mayreceive more than one digitised signal to be used as reference signal.This allows a selection of a suitable version of the reference signal.

The base stations are preferably configured for selecting the referencesignal having the highest quality. This allows the base stations toselect the best reference signal if they receive multiple referencesignals. Those skilled in the art will understand that various qualitymeasures may be used, for example signal-to-noise ratio, signalamplitude, etc., or a combination of such quality measures.

As all base stations will select the best version from the availableversions of the reference signal on the basis of a common criterion, thereference signal used by the base stations will be uniform. As thereference signals, or reference signal candidates, produced by thereceivers are digital signals, digital signal comparison and processingis made possible.

The known locations of the base stations are preferably absolutelocations, that is, fixed locations of the base stations which may bemeasured relative to a coordinate system, as used in GPS (GlobalPositioning System) for example. In some applications the locations ofthe base stations may be relative, that is, relative to each other. Thismay be the case, for example, when the base stations are situated on aship. As a result of using relative locations of the base stations, thefound position of the mobile telecommunication device will be relativerather than absolute.

It is preferred that the signal transmitted by the mobile device andused to determine its location is a continuous signal, in particularthat the signal is a modulated digital communication signal.

In order to determine the time of arrival of signals, a time referenceis required. However, local clocks of base stations may have deviationsfrom the “true” time. In order to take these deviations into account, itis preferred that the method further comprises the steps of:

-   -   providing a local clock in each base station for determining the        times of arrival of the signal,    -   exchanging timing messages between the base stations,    -   deriving from the timing messages any time deviations of the        local clocks, and    -   determining the time of arrival of the signal at each base        station using the respective local clock and the respective time        deviation.        That is, timing messages are exchanged between the base stations        to determine any deviations of local clocks. This deviations        are, in turn, used to correct the times of arrival. Thus, the        times of arrival of the signal transmitted by the mobile        telecommunication device can be determined in each base station        with great accuracy, as any clock deviations are compensated.        Accordingly, the transmission time differences and hence the        distances of the base stations relative to the mobile        telecommunication device can be accurately determined.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the method additionallycomprises the steps of:

-   -   each transmitting base station registering the time of        transmission of each timing message, and    -   each receiving base station registering the time of receipt of        each timing message, and    -   determining the time deviation of a second base station relative        to a first base station by

ε2=(tr1+tt1−tt2−tr2)/2,

-   -   where ε2 is the time deviation of a second base station, tt1 and        tt2 are the times of transmission at a first and a second base        station respectively, and tr1 and tr2 are the times of receipt        at the first and the second base station respectively.        In this way, the time deviations of the base stations can be        determined very efficiently and very accurately.

In some embodiments, the timing messages may contain the time oftransmission at the transmitting base station. This simplifies thecalculation of time differences, making the determination of the timedeviations even more efficient.

The timing messages may be constituted by pulse-shaped signals. However,this is not essential and continuous timing signals, for instancefrequency modulated continuous timing signals can also be used.

In an advantageous embodiment, the timing messages are constituted byfrequency modulated (FM) signals, preferably signals having a linearfrequency sweep. This allows an improved distance detection using phaseinformation contained in the frequency modulated signals. FMCW(frequency modulated continuous wave) signals are particularly preferredas FMCW signals produce the highest correlation accuracy.

Although the timing messages are preferably exchanged wirelessly betweenthe base stations, using the antennas of the base stations, it is alsopossible to transmit some or all timing messages by wired connections.

A base station is provided for use in a mobile telecommunication system,the base station comprising:

-   -   a first signal reception unit for wirelessly receiving a signal        from a mobile telecommunication device,    -   a second signal reception unit for receiving a reference signal,    -   a memory unit for storing the signal, and    -   a processor unit for processing the signal and the reference        signal, and being arranged for:        -   correlating the signal and the reference signal so as to            produce a correlation for each base station,        -   detecting a maximum in each correlation, which maximum is            indicative of a time of arrival of the signal at the            respective base station,        -   deriving from the times of arrival respective distances to            the mobile telecommunication device and,        -   using the respective distances and the respective known            locations to derive a position of the mobile            telecommunication device,    -   characterised by the second signal reception unit comprising a        network interface unit for interfacing with a data network to        which signal receivers capable of forwarding reference signals        are coupled.        The base station may advantageously be arranged for selecting,        if it receives multiple reference signals, the reference signal        having the highest quality.

Further a system is provided for determining a position of a mobiletelecommunication device which transmits a signal, the system comprisingat least three base stations as defined above. Such a system may alsocomprise a central unit to which the base stations transmit positiondata.

Additionally a computer program product is provided for carrying out themethod defined above. A computer program product may comprise a set ofcomputer executable instructions stored on a tangible data carrier, suchas a CD, a DVD or a memory stick. The set of computer executableinstructions, which allow a programmable computer to carry out themethod as defined above, may also be available for downloading from aremote server, for example via the Internet. In particular, the steps ofcorrelating the received signal and the reference signal, detecting amaximum in the resulting correlation, deriving distances and a positionfrom the detected maximum, and also the step of selection the highestquality reference signal, for example, may be carried out by a computerprogram.

These and other aspects will further be explained below with referenceto exemplary embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 schematically shows a system in which a mobile device can belocated.

FIG. 2 schematically shows a receiver unit which can be used in thesystem according to FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 schematically shows how distances can be determined using severalbase stations.

FIG. 4 schematically shows how the time of arrival of a signal can bedetermined in a base station.

FIG. 5 schematically shows a base station which may be used in themethod and system.

FIG. 6 schematically shows the steps of determining base station clockdifferences.

The system shown merely by way of non-limiting example in FIG. 1comprises base stations (BS) 1, 2 and 3, a mobile telecommunicationdevice 10 and a data network 7. The mobile telecommunication device 10may be a mobile (i.e. cellular) telephone, a smartphone, a portablecomputer provided with telephone facilities, or any other portablecommunication device capable of transmitting a communication signal Swhich can be received by the base stations 1, 2 and 3.

Each base station is configured for supporting mobile (that is cellular)telecommunications, for example telecommunications in accordance withLTE (Long Term Evolution) or 4G. The base stations are part of awireless communication network wherein they perform functions oftransmission and reception of wireless signals as part of the wirelesscommunication network operation. Accordingly, each base station definesa geographic wireless cell of the wireless communication network inwhich wireless telecommunication through the wireless communicationnetwork is supported via the base station.

The base stations 1, 2 and 3 are connected by a data link 8, whichallows the base station to exchange information and, in particular,allows the base stations to receive reference signals. The data link 8preferably is a wired link (e.g. a data cable) but may also beconstituted by a wireless link. The data network 7 is coupled to thelink 8 as well. In the embodiment shown, a central unit (CU) 9 is alsocoupled to the link 8, thus allowing the base stations 1, 2 and 3 tocommunicate with the central unit 9 and the data network 7.

The central unit 9 may be constituted by a suitably configured computerunit and may be capable of receiving information from the base stations,processing that information and supplying selected information, forexample a location, to a device capable of displaying the selectedinformation. A suitable display unit may be part of the central unit 9.In some embodiments, the central unit 9 carries out the reference signalselection and processing tasks that are carried out by the base stationsin other embodiments.

The data network may be a conventional data network capable of digitallytransferring data. The data network 7 shown in FIG. 1 comprises aplurality of switching units 71, 72, 73, . . . which are connected bysuitable data links. In the embodiment shown, switching unit 74 isconnected to the link 8. Receiver units 21, 22 and 23 are connected tothe switching units 71, 72, 73 and 74 respectively and serve to receivethe signal S so as to provide a reference signal, as will later beexplained in more detail with reference to FIG. 3. Even though threereceiver units are shown in FIG. 1 by way of example, this number is notcrucial and even a single receiver unit could be sufficient. It ispreferred, however, to provide more two or more receiver units, in orderto improve the quality of the reference signal.

Each base station 1, 2 and 3 is provided with an antenna 11, 12 and 13respectively for receiving the signal S transmitted by the mobiletelecommunication device 10. Accordingly, each base station receives thesignal S directly via its antenna and indirectly via the data network 7and its receiver units 21, 22 and 23. The indirectly received signal S′,which during the wireless part of its transmission is identical to theoriginal signal S, is used as reference signal. As the transmission timefrom the receiver units 21-23 through the data network 7 and the link 8to the base stations 1-3 normally is longer than from a base stationantenna (e.g. 11) to the associated base station (e.g. 1), the referencesignal S′ will typically reach a base station later than the originalsignal S, even if a receiver unit is closer to the mobiletelecommunication device than the base station antenna is. In order tobe able to compare the directly received original signal S and theindirectly received reference signal S′, the original signal S isdelayed in the base stations, at least until the reference signal S′ isreceived by the respective base station.

Delaying the reference signal S′ is preferably achieved by temporarilystoring this signal. That is, the reference signal S′ is stored in amemory unit of each base station, at least until it can be compared withthe original signal S. This will later be explained in more detail withreference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

It will be understood that the system may comprise more than three basestations. For the system to accurately locate a mobile device, at leastthree base stations are required, which base stations must besufficiently spaced apart. In practice, it will be advantageous toutilize more than three base stations as this will improve the accuracyof the mobile device's position.

It is noted that the base stations may be conventional base stationsused for UMTS, LTE or similar mobile telecommunication systems. However,in preferred embodiments the base stations are dedicated base stationsconfigured for indoor use. Advantageously, the base stations may beconfigured both for general (e.g. LTE) and indoor (e.g. WLAN) use.

An exemplary embodiment of a receiver unit is schematically illustratedin FIG. 2. The receiver unit of FIG. 2 comprises an antenna 211 and anA/D (analogue/digital) converter 213 which are connected by a cable 212(in some embodiments, this connection may be wireless). The antenna 211receives the analogue signal S′ which is converted into a digital signalby the A/D converter 213 and forwarded to the data network 7 (FIG. 1).In most embodiments, no further signal processing takes place, exceptfrom preferably limiting the time duration of the signal. That is,preferably a time-limited section of the digitised signal S′ isforwarded rather than a continuous stream. The time-limited signalsection may have a duration of less than 1 ms (millisecond), preferablyless than 0.1 ms. In some embodiments, the signal section may have aduration of a few microseconds. The digital signal may be compressed tofacilitate its transmission, preferably using lossless compression. Tothis end, the A/D unit 213 may be provided with a signal compressionunit which may use conventional signal compression (i.e. coding)techniques. It will be understood that the receiver units mayadditionally comprise an interface unit (not shown) for interfacing withthe data network 7.

The base stations operate as part of a wireless communication networkwherein they perform functions of transmission and reception of wirelesssignals in wireless network telecommunication for their geographic area.In contrast to the base stations, the receiver units 21-23 are notconfigured for mobile telecommunication but may be configured forwireless communication with portable devices. The wirelesstelecommunication network operation in a cell that contains the receiverunits 21-23 proceeds without involvement of the receiver units 21-23 inthat cell. As a result, the receiver units are inexpensive units. Thisallows a relatively large number of receiver units to be installed, ifdesired, for example a plurality in the same wireless network cell.

FIG. 3, which shows parts of the system of FIG. 1, schematicallyillustrates various aspects. The mobile communication device 10 islocated at a distance D1 from the antenna 11 of the first base station(1 in FIG. 1), and at distances D2 and D3 from the antennas 12 and 13 ofthe second and third base stations (2 and 3 in FIG. 1) respectively. Bydetermining the moment in time at which the signal (S, S′ in FIG. 1)reaches the antennas 11, 12 and 13, the distances D1, D2 and D3 can bedetermined, or at least the differences between those distances, as willbe explained in more detail below.

The principles of multilateration, also known as hyperbolic navigationare used. Each pair of base stations determines a time differencebetween the arrival of the signal S at the respective base stations (or,more precisely, at their antennas), each time difference being caused bya difference in distance to the source of the signal, that is, themobile communication device 10. For each pair of base stations, thistime difference results in a hyperbola on which the origin of the signalS, here the mobile communication device 10, is located. In the schematicexample of FIG. 3, hyperbola H1 is defined by the base station pair 1, 2while hyperbola H2 is defined by the base station pair 2, 3. Theintersection of two hyperbolas H1, H2 indicates the position of thedevice 10.

It is noted that in the two-dimensional case illustrated in FIGS. 1 and3, two hyperbolas are sufficient to determine the location of the device10. In a three-dimensional case, three hyperbolas are required.

The hyperbolas H1 and H2 are determined relative to the positions of thebase stations, resulting in a relative position. Preferably, however,the locations of the base stations are known and as a result, the foundposition of the mobile communication device will be an absoluteposition.

The moments in time at which the signals reach the antennas 11, 12 and13 of their associated base stations 1, 2 and 3 respectively aredetermined by correlating the wirelessly received original signal S andthe reference signal S′ received via the data network 7. Although thiscorrelation may be carried out in the central unit, it is preferred thatit is carried out in the base stations, as this reduces the requiredtransfer of data.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates how the original signal S and thereference signal S′ may be processed in a base station. As mentionedabove, the reference signal S′ typically reaches the base stations laterthan the original signal S. To allow a correlation of correspondingsignal parts, the original signal S is delayed (D) in step 151. It isnoted that the delays of all base stations should be identical to allowa proper time of arrival determination. The delay is chosen so as toapproximately correspond to an expected delay of the reference signal S′in the data network (7 in FIG. 1). This will allow the correspondingparts of the reference signal and the original signal to be correlated.The delay may be embodied by a shift register or similar structure, orby a memory in which the signal is temporarily stored.

In step 152, the reference signal S′ and the (delayed) original signal Sare correlated (p), resulting in a time tr which is indicative of thecorrelation peak relative to the beginning of the signal S. It is notedthat the arrival of the signal S, or of a particular part of signal S,should be registered to allow the relative position of the correlationpeak to be determined. In step 153, a clock time tc is retrieved and instep 154, the temporal occurrence of the correlation peak tr is combinedwith the clock time tc to produce the time of arrival ta for the basestation. This time of arrival ta is used in further steps (not shown)together with times of arrival produced by the other base stations todetermine time of arrival differences, which in turn are used to producedifferences in distances traveled and the hyperbolas illustrated in FIG.1.

An exemplary base station configured to carry out the steps of FIG. 4,is schematically illustrated in FIG. 5. The base station 1 comprises afirst signal reception unit (FSRU) 101, a second signal reception unit(SSRU) 102, a network interface unit (NIU) 103, a processor (P) 110, amemory (M) 111 and a clock (C) 115. In the embodiment shown, the networkinterface unit 103 is integral with the second signal reception unit102. In some embodiments, a single integrated signal reception unit mayreplace the first and second signal reception units 101 and 102, and/ora delay unit (not shown) may be arranged between the first signalreception unit 101 and the processor 110.

The first signal reception unit 101 receives the original signal S fromthe antenna 11 while the second signal reception unit 102 receives thereference signal S′ from the link 8 via the network interface unit 103.As mentioned above, the link 8 connects the base stations with the datanetwork 7 to which in turn the receivers 21 are connected.

Multiple versions of the reference signal S′ may reach the base station1, as there are multiple receivers (21-23 in FIG. 1) which may receivethe signal. The base station selects (the version of) the referencesignal S′ having the highest signal quality, thus rejecting all others.To this end, the processor 110 of the base station may be configured todetermine the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of (the various versions of)the reference signal S′ and/or other signal parameters and then toselect the best available in terms of the applied quality criteria.

As mentioned above, the original signal S is delayed (that is,temporarily stored) in the base stations. To limit the amount of memoryrequired for the temporary storage, only a section of the originalsignal S is stored, together with the moment in time (measured by thelocal clock of the base station) at which the beginning of this sectionwas received. The stored section may have a duration of several ms(milliseconds), although both larger (e.g. 0.1 second) and smaller (e.g.0.1 ms=100 μs) sections may be used.

Accordingly, the memory unit 111 stores suitable processor instructionsfor carrying out the required signal processing steps and also storesthe original signal S. The signal processing steps include correlatingthe original signal S and the reference signal S′. As the originalsignal S and the reference signal S′ are essentially the same signal,the correlation will be low unless the signal sections are properlyaligned in time, at which point the correlation will exhibit a peak. Thetime shift of the two signal sections is a precise measure of the delayof the original signal as it covered the distance (D1 in FIG. 3) fromthe mobile communication device to the base station 1. Accordingly, theprocessor 110 will produce a time indication derived from thecorrelation peak. This time indication is combined with the local timeindicated by the clock 115 and is in base stations 2 and 3 corrected bya correction factor, the so-called time deviation, as will be explainedbelow.

According to a further aspect, the base stations exchange timingmessages which are provided to determine any deviations of the clocks.Typically, the clocks will not be perfectly synchronised and this is noteven necessary if the deviations can be determined with sufficientaccuracy.

As schematically illustrated in FIG. 6, the base stations 1, 2 and 3 areconfigured for exchanging timing messages. If the first base station 1(BS1 in FIG. 6) transmits a timing message at t=tt1 (time oftransmission 1), this message is received at the second base station 2at local time t=tr2 (time of receipt 2). The delay of this timingmessage is Δt, which is determined by the distance between the basestations (time of flight) and their response times. Upon receipt of thefirst timing message, the second base station 2 (BS2) returns a secondtiming message at local time t=tt2, which timing message is received bythe first base station at t=tr1. The timing messages contain the (local)times of transmission. It can be shown that the time deviation of thesecond base station relative to a first base station can be determinedby

ε2=(tr1+tt1−tt2−tr2)/2

As explained above, ε2 is the time deviation of the second base station,tt1 and tt2 are the times of transmission at a first and a second basestation respectively, and tr1 and tr2 are the times of receipt at thefirst and the second base station respectively.

Those skilled in the art will readily derive similar expressions for thetime deviation ε3 of the third base station and corresponding timedeviations of any further base stations.

Using these simple steps, any deviations of the local clocks of the basestations can be determined. These deviations can, in turn, be used tocompensate any delay times and hence compensate the distances used fordetermining the position of the mobile communication device.

The insight is used that a reference signal for correlation purposes canadvantageously be transmitted via a digital network. The further insightis used that differences between local clocks in base stations can bedetermined in a simple yet very effective manner.

As the position of the source of the signal, in the above embodimentsthe mobile communication device, can be determined with great accuracy,the present invention is suitable for indoor use.

It is noted that any terms used in this document should not be construedso as to limit the scope of the present invention. In particular, thewords “comprise(s)” and “comprising” are not meant to exclude anyelements not specifically stated. Single (circuit) elements may besubstituted with multiple (circuit) elements or with their equivalents.The words “location” and “position” can be used interchangeably.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the presentinvention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated above and thatmany modifications and additions may be made without departing from thescope of the invention as defined in the appending claims.

1. A method of determining a position of a mobile telecommunicationdevice which transmits a signal to base stations connected by a datalink and having known locations, the method comprising the steps of:receiving the signal at two or more base stations wirelessly, providinga reference signal at the base stations, correlating the signal and thereference signal so as to produce a correlation for each base station,detecting a maximum in each correlation, which maximum is indicative ofa time of arrival of the signal at the respective base station, derivingfrom the times of arrival respective distances to the mobilecommunication device and, using the respective distances and therespective known locations to derive a location of the mobiletelecommunication device, the method further comprising providing a datanetwork coupled to the data link, providing receivers coupled to thedata network, deriving by using A/D conversion the reference signal fromthe signal as received by each receiver, and forwarding the referencesignal to the base stations through the data network and the data link.2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data network and thereceivers are configured for WLAN access.
 3. The method according toclaim 1, wherein at least one of the receivers has a location which isdistinct from the location of any of the base stations.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein each base station selects, if it receivesmultiple reference signals, the reference signal having the highestquality.
 5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising the stepof determining the signal-to-noise ratio of the reference signal so asto select the reference signal having the highest quality.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the signal is a modulated digitalcommunication signal.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein thesignal is a continuous signal.
 8. The method according to claim 1,further comprising the steps of: providing a local clock in each basestation for determining the times of arrival of the signal, exchangingtiming messages between the base stations, deriving from the timingmessages any time deviations of the local clocks, and determining thetime of arrival of the signal at each base station using the respectivelocal clock and the respective time deviation.
 9. The method accordingto claim 8, further comprising the steps of: each transmitting basestation registering the time of transmission of each timing message, andeach receiving base station registering the time of receipt of eachtiming message, determining the time deviation, ε2, of a second basestation relative to a first base station by according toε2=(tr1+tt1−tt2−tr2)/2, wherein tt1 and tt2 represent the times oftransmission at the first base station and the second base station,respectively, and wherein tr1 and tr2 represent the times of receipt atthe first base station and the second base station, respectively. 10.The method according to claim 8, wherein the timing messages contain thetime of transmission at the transmitting base station.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 8, wherein the timing messages are constituted bypulse-shaped signals which are preferably transmitted wirelessly. 12.The method according to claim 8, wherein the timing messages areconstituted by frequency modulated signals, preferably signals having alinear frequency sweep.
 13. A non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving a computer program embodied thereon, the computer programincluding instructions for carrying out method steps according toclaim
 1. 14. A base station for use in a mobile telecommunicationsystem, the base station comprising: a first signal reception unit forwirelessly receiving a signal from a mobile telecommunication device, asecond signal reception unit for receiving a reference signal, a memoryunit for storing the signal, and a processor unit for processing thesignal and the reference signal, and being configured for: correlatingthe signal and the reference signal so as to produce a correlation foreach base station, detecting a maximum in each correlation, whichmaximum is indicative of a time of arrival of the signal at therespective base station, deriving from the times of arrival respectivedistances to the mobile telecommunication device and, using therespective distances and the respective known locations to derive alocation of the mobile telecommunication device, wherein the secondsignal reception unit comprises a network interface unit forinterfacing, preferably via a data link, with a data network to whichsignal receivers capable of forwarding reference signals are coupled.15. A system for determining a position of a mobile telecommunicationdevice which transmits a signal, the system comprising at least threebase stations according to claim 14.